Madness
by ImJustThatAnimeFan
Summary: Crona is consumed by madness and doesn't seem to remember what he's done. Stein gets in the mix and follows after him like a lost puppy. Everyone is gravely injured and dying while Kid is forced to retrieve the mental pinkette and professor with the little life he possesses. BoyCrona/Kid. AU-ish. Hint of BoyCrona/Stein. T for blood.
1. Betrayal

**This is yaoi so if you don't like it, don't read it. I'm basing it off the English dub of the anime where they refer to Crona as a boy. I really don't care if you like F!Crona, don't even bother reviewing if you're going to be like, "I think Crona is a girl but I think this story is ok", I'd rather you not even review then. F!Crona annoys me because Crona seems a little too weak(I might be being sexist but im a girl so does that count?) to be a girl. It pisses me off. I really don't have to explain myself buuut..Anyway, it's AU-ish, doesn't alter the anime too much, just a few things and this is set in a future time, maybe a few months after everyone is fine and the bad guys are defeated.**

**I was listening to Sally's Song while writing this first chapter so don't judge me. I've never tried writing any of the Soul Eater characters so go easy on me please.**

He could hear the uneven pants, the calls for his name in a panicked frenzy, calls for help and screams but he couldn't bring himself to crack open his eyes. He was afraid, the fear gripping his heart tightly. He didn't want to see it. He didn't want to see the blood.

"_Kid! Please!"_

He didn't want to wake up.

"_Crona no! Don't please! Cro—"_

"_MAKA!"_

"…_did you know his blood is black?"_

"DAMMIT KID!"

The sharp smack echoed in the darkened room, the light switch flicking on in an instant, golden irises snapping open at the same time.

"L-Liz..?"

A soft relieved sigh escaped the older blonde that hovered over him, staring down at him, worry etched into her face, eyebrows drawn low over her eyes. A younger blonde popped up next to her, eyes brimming with tears.

"You're ok!"

The young shinigami ignored the exclamation and lightly scanned his surroundings. The white washed room confused him before he caught sight of the guillotine's lined up not far off from where he lay. The death room.

"W…what's going on..?" he croaked, voice hoarse from misuse.

A bouncy blob of black appeared in his vision, the white mask of his father greeting him, "Hi there kiddo, good to see you're awake now…I'm sorry to say this but, that friend of yours, Crona, was kidnapped a week ago when you hosted that party. Everyone was gravely hurt," the younger shinigami took in the appearance of his weapons, seeing their bandaged state, "Soul and Maka are under critical condition and Stein doesn't know if they'll pull through," the death lord seemed worried, "You barely pulled through yourself…kiddo.."

Kid's ragged breathing slowed, staring at his father, a pain in his side numbing the rest of his body, "Do..Do we have any idea...who attacked us?"

The death gods body seemed to go rigid, "Apparently, the demon sword Ragnorak. He himself attacked everyone. From what little Maka could tell us, he had increased size ten fold and Crona's soul wavelength had darkened and grown considerably. We believe he had "Soul Protection" on himself the whole time. Or at least for a few weeks. Though, Maka begged me not to jump to conclusions, she said something was wrong, the boy wasn't even himself, his body seemed too limp to be moving on his own. We believe the black blood may have gone to his head, quite literally," the god paused to examine his son's reaction, "He's in danger of himself."

The younger god pursed his lips, pushing himself to rest against his forearms, not caring that he was shirtless as he struggled to sit up in the daybed he had been placed on. His hair was all over the place and sticking up at different angles but he couldn't bring himself to raise his hand. He felt like throwing up despite his stomach feeling empty and particularly starved over the week he'd been out.

"So we have to save him? From himself? How do we do that?" the young boy scoffed, tenderly gripping his side.

"Maka has done it once before, but we are afraid of the outcome this time around…," the god paused as his son got up, held by his two weapons, "I have already sent Black Star, Tsubaki, Stein, and Marie on their way to search for him, his most recent attack destroyed seven houses and eight humans in a neighboring village…We were told that the demon on his back was continuously saying, '"…did you know his blood is black..?"'. We're unsure if Ragnorak is entirely under control of the operation but he is the cause."

Kid felt hatred boiling in the bottom pits of his stomach, pursing his lips in annoyance, gently swatting the helping hands away, running his own through his hair, hoping he smoothed it to a point of mild perfection. He felt a twinge of regret and sorrow about how he was so quick to ultimately hate the demon swordsman and it showed on his face. He felt an oversized hand against his back, probably to sooth him.

"Kiddo, if we can't save him again,"

"We have to kill him," Kid finished quietly, clenching his fists at the thought of having the pinkish haired boy beneath him, riddled with bullets and stabs, bleeding and laughing grimly as his blood flowed freely, continuously attacking them until there was nothing to salvage. Attacking Maka, Soul, Black Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, and himself.

He pictured the tears that would flow down everyone faces, the few prickling the corners of his eyes, the way Stein, Marie, Sid, and everyone else would react once they returned or yet...if they did at all. The worst reaction of all would probably be of Maka's. He could already hear her pained screams echoing in the back of his mind, begging him to spare the boy, begging him not to reap him. Begging...Screaming.

Kid threw up.

**FIRST CHAPTER FINISHED! It's quite short but, bleh.**


	2. Madness

Crona leaned against a tree, eyes half closed and whatever was seen was clouded over and misty and dark. One arm was thrown over a branch to keep his standing position and the other was holding his weapon which had grown larger, larger than it had before. Waves of evil aura seemed to be pouring off of it and the child himself. He was dripping wet, the droplets of blood mixed in with the looser water made it run down whatever patch of uncovered skin it could find. The rain was hard and desperate, cold and warm at the same time, hateful but comforting. The half witchling accepted the cool rain pouring over his bloodied form. None of it was his because, you see, the blood was red. Such a pretty red. But his black blood was pretty.

"Hey hey, Crona, don't cha know, your blood is black?" taunted the red lips on his sword.

"Blacker than black Ragnorak, Blacker than sin, Blacker than the sky at night," Crona suddenly begun smiling, eyes wide," Blacker than Death itself, don't you think, Ragnorak?"

The sword agreed with him immediately, the boys mad chuckling soothing his want to kill, to be coated in the marvelous red liquid. Soon enough, he morphed back into the child's back, leaving his hand bare. Crona stared at the ground, his throat aching from the screaming and laughing he'd done earlier. His mind was a jumble of fuzzy thoughts and pleas for help, distant but surely there. After a moment or so, he pushed himself from the safety of his tree, immediately releasing "Soul Protect" in the process. Without being a full blooded witch, he was unable to keep the spell active unless he was still. His soul begun to spread until it covered a good area of the forest, surpassing Stein's and Spirit's souls put together. His soul had progressed darkly after his encounter with Medusa and Stein, Marie by his side.

_Maka had come and he risked his life to save her. He was alive, barely, but alive and had witness most of the fight. Once madness had taken over Maka and Soul was defenseless, the darkness pouring off her lured Crona asleep. His own madness took over and he was up again. Marie was fighting Stein but she'd been knocked unconscious. He pursed his lips and a smile soon broke out as Maka shuddered, turning to look at him with a crazed smile._

"_Decided to join me, did you Crona? How lucky of me to accept your company!" she giggled helplessly, gaze wondering away._

_Crona ignored her and looked over to Medusa who was beginning to look shocked and mildly afraid. He stood up to her, eyes crazed and Ragnorak over his head._

"_Soul Resonance, Madness Decay," with that, Ragnorak became curved and jagged, black bladed and dripping with immense power, "Bye bye…Mummy.." he said, slashing the weapon down, the bloodied slash headed straight toward the woman who died seemingly on impact, the girl fainting. The witched soul hovered over the child in which Crona summoned into his hand, eating it himself, ignoring Ragnorak's pleas to devour it. The feeling of the soul inside him almost made the boy gag and double over, madness consuming him completely as his soul flared and sparked, the snake swirling around it shattering as it grew and spread, soon exploding the area around it, devouring all the madness. Crona, fainted, a spell automatically locking and twisting it's way around his body. Maka stood, eyes wide and confused, staring at the young girl, after a moment she heard Marie yelling at Stein, happy he was okay. Marie must have defeated his madness..and she..She had killed Medusa..she couldn't even remember how. She briefly thanked the gods and madness, soon looking over to her injured friend. Stein was laying his jacket over the child, giving Maka a weary smile._

Crona groaned at the memory….

"Maka…" he breathed desperately.

His soul had begun progressing since them and he himself hadn't even noticed until Kid threw them all a party. He supposed it was to loosen them all up after such a fierce battle. Kid had offered to let Crona stay at Gallows Mansion, asking for nothing in return. This is what caused the boy to snap. Crona had begun to doubt his self worth the entire night and having Kid suddenly come over like that and request such a thing, Crona felt Kid thought he needed someone to watch over him because he was unstable.

"_What do you think I am, some fool!?" Crona threw some juice in the young reapers face._

_Kid was confused, eyes wide and mouth shaped like an "o". Soon, he eyes grew mildly fearful at the sight of madness that had consumed the usually kind dark blue eyes. Suddenly a hand was around his throat but it wasn't quite Crona's. His black blood was twirled around his arm but it seemed to be protruding as if it was an oversized vein appearing through the skin, soon going up his fingers and making his fingertips black. Crona was laughing and that brought most of everyone's attention to them. Crona leaned forward and licked the burning cheek, giggling at Kid's embarrassment despite his lack of oxygen._

"_I like you Kid, I really do, but, I hate when people think they need to take care of me, I really do," Crona muttered as the palm of his other hand started to bleed and he placed it at Kid's waist. Soon enough, the bloody beads became weapons and pierced through the young reapers abdomen and shattered his pelvis. _

_The boy was screaming, face turning blue from lack of air as he practically threw up blood on Crona's face, the red liquid coating the boys neck and some of his face. Crona let him drop, the screams intensifying as his shattered bones collided with the floor. _

_Suddenly, Ragnorak burst from Crona's back with a sheer cry, larger than he had even been, eyes rolling around._

"_Kid! Please!" Patty had screamed as the demon sword threw the dying boy out of the window, his cries silent after a loud thud. _

"_Crona No! Don't Please! Cro—"_

_Maka was practically crushed in Ragnoraks hand, her ribs breaking beneath his grip and piercing her vitals. She was thrown to the floor limply, eyes lifeless. Soul screamed out in terror, eyes wide and wild as he rushed after him, his arm a blade._

"_MAKA!"_

The rest of the fight was a blur and before Crona knew it, he was on his knees, crying sloppily, tears rolling down his face and snot dripping from his nose. He betrayed everyone again. He was a failure. He was coughing up black blood. He had probably killed all of his friends. The looks on the faces he could remember were shear pain and hate.

Kid…His face held such confusion and embarrassment but he was afraid. His wounds were still healing and his weapons were too far away and weren't looking. He had brutally shattered his bone and had killed him no doubt. Death would be after him with everyone ounce of person he had, even if he destroyed Death City in the process. He didn't want to do it. He really liked Kid. He…Crona gagged, retching up blood as Ragnorak repaired him internally.

Maka. She shouldn't have stepped closer. She was afraid, afraid for him, scared for Kid, worried about them both. He hadn't done it though, right? Ragnorak did, right? Ragnorak killed her.

Soul. He was angered, pissed, and afraid of the fate of his meister.

Crona begun laughing, banging his fist against the ground as tears filled his eyes. There was madness buried inside of him but, he suppose it was from some experiment. Well…he had always been mad, hadn't he? It had just been triggered by Kid..Or..Medusa...He didn't know, gulping, adams apple bobbing. He was insane. Nothing more to it. His eyes begun to cloud over more as he sensed a presence nearby, it was weak, weaker than him, but familiar, soon, his vision had gone blank, he couldn't see anything and couldn't feel anything.

Where ever he was…it was dark but comforting, soothing voices felt like they were caressing his cheeks, shyly nuzzling against them, feeling the world around him to be too soft to resist sleeping in his dreamy world or dark comfort.

**Chapter 2 done.**


	3. Death

**Warning: Character Deaths because I don't know how to handle them in the story. An odd background appears….I think, Stein, for whatever reason, don't judge me, is Crona's fatherly figure. BUT SERIOUSLY. UM...ITS AU SO...Please don't hate me...Fan fiction is for my girly release.**

**sob sob**

**Anon/CronaFan: Yes, your review appeared(I believe). Thank you and I hope you continue to further enjoy my story.**

* * *

When the group sent by Lord Death had come into contact with the village their runaway had last been, an immense unstable soul had suddenly overpowered and weighed them down, causing Black Star to vomit and Tsubaki to faint. Stein and Marie were standing but quite barely, the two breathing heavily as they ran onward. As they neared, Marie turned into a weapon and Stein gripped onto her. He could tell she was afraid. He could feel the cold feeling in the pits of his stomach as well. Fear.

Soon they came upon who they were looking for, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. There seemed to be too much of it for him to be alive but he was there, staring at them, irises not the shy blue color Stein had grown fond of seeing but a cold black, laced with madness and blood colored accents. After a moment, madness poured off the boy and invaded Stein's senses. Shit. He couldn't do it, he dropped Marie and she became human, cradling his head, using her powers but to no avail. Stein's hand was suddenly pressed painfully to her stomach, piercing through her shirt and attempting to do the same to her stomach.

"Soul Menace," he whispered and Marie found herself coughing up blooding and a hole through her stomach where Stein's soul wavelength had punctured her gut.

She fell back, blood pouring from her body as she laid limp, eyes blank, already dead. Stein then shakily looked up to the boy who was suddenly in front of him. His dark eyes staring down at Steins, almost kindly.

"Did you know, Professor Stein, that my blood," Crona raised his hand to Stein's lips, swiping his bloodied finger across them, "is black, you see?" he questioned softly.

Stein's tongue glided across his lips, licking up the blood before watching the boy waver a bit before collapsing against his kneeled form, his sudden madness and soul vanishing as if under a tightly locked spell. Stein felt his body quiver as he heard the soft breathing of the pink haired boy against him and felt the lifeless body next to him. He suddenly laughed, wrapping his arms tightly around Crona, burying his nose in his hair.

"You have Medusa's soul and my Madness, don't you Crona? I want to dissect you, see wants inside, maybe you're like me maybe our kidneys are shaped the same."

The boy of course didn't answer, eyes shut and breathing soft, finally being able to sleep now in the comfort of someone else's dwelling madness, feeling accepted as he unconsciously fisted his bloody fingers in the scratchy lab coat. Stein soon calmed down somewhat, ignoring the radio in his head as he stared down at the orphaned child, left alone in the world where no one would think once about him. Stein stood, dragging the limp boy to his feet, soon seeing he wasn't going to be waking up, he picked him up bridal style, Crona's head against his shoulder and his fingers still fisted in the coat.

Stein soon begun to walk, where, he had no idea. He just knew he had to get away. Get he and this child away, from the world, far away from questioning eyes. Stein just wants to save him before it's too late. Too late before he too is drowned in madness where there is no return.

* * *

Black Star and a dazed Tsubaki were in the background, lingering behind trees and watching the event unfold before their very eyes. They came upon the two, barely catching a glimpse of..of..Marie's _murder. _The two knew, even Black Star silently admitted it, they stood no chance against the strong meister's, weaponless or not. They soon got onto their feet again and scurried off as quietly as possible to find a mirror, hoping to find some type of way to defeat the deranged duo.

* * *

"Lord Death! We're sorry for the interruption but, but…" Tsubaki paused, tears welling up as she quietly drifted off screen and Black Star took her place, much stronger than her at the moment, "Marie…She..She's gone..." he choked out after a moment, refusing to make himself look weak in front of an actual god.

The death god was shocked; his son who was next to him, still bandaged and being supported by his weapons displayed a similar reaction, staring at Black Star.

"Crona? Crona killed Marie? I don't believe that!" he ended up shouting, cringing and spitting up blood.

"No Kid, it was Professor Stein, Crona's Mad, his madness is pouring off him in waves, I'm surprised neither of us were affected…But I guess we were too far anyway..." he muttered, head hung low.

"Father, I can't take this, sitting around, waiting for more of the people I care about getting hurt, I won't stand for it anymore, I'm going and whatever you do won't stop me."

"Ok Kiddo," Kid seemed put off by his fathers quick decision, "As a young shinigami, I entrust your missions to yourself, you may only be a one star meister but I'm proud of your progression, I believe you can defeat your enemy if you put your heart to it.."

The words stunned Kid and for a brief moment, he was engulfed in a large hug, one that included Patty and Liz as well.

"I'm proud of all of you, now," Lord Death looked back over to the mirror, "Black Star, Tsubaki, if you can find a mirror big enough, I can bring you back immediately…I'll send someone else to retrieve Marie's body."

* * *

It was night by the time everyone was prepared for what they were to do. Black Star and Tsubaki came back and were sent to rest, the lasting affects of the drifting madness and overpowering soul they barely encountered weighing them down. Kid had gathered his weapons and threw on his shinigami regulated clothes, the willowy black cloak and a mask of his fathers resting a top his head, lips pursed as he summoned his hover board, guns in their thigh holsters as he set off into the night.

"Kid..?" Liz whispered inside his head, "Are you alright?"

"..I don't know."

"Do you think we can save Crona…?"

"I don't know."

"Do you care for Crona, or do you just want to kill him?"

"Of course I care!" Kid snapped suddenly, the hover board increasing in speed as the young shinigami got angry, "Crona is my friend, I won't go back on my word. I said we could be friends and one day I'd give him a haircut, and that's what I'm going to do! As soon as I get myself through that thick head of his," tears were suddenly in his eyes, blinding his vision and flowing behind him, "I'LL SHOW HIM A SYMETRICAL HAIRCUT LIKE NO ONE'S EVER SEEN!" he cried, no truly caring about the haircut.

"Oh Kid…" Liz whispered with a ghost of a smile.

Kid slowed down to a halt, wiping his eyes lightly as he landed on a hill overlooking the land in which he knew of no name. He was too far from Death City to care. Taking a deep breath he yelled, ignoring the pain in his side.

"CRONA! I'M COMING TO GET YOU! AND WHEN I DO, I'LL SHOW YOU YOUR BLOOD IS RED JUST LIKE THE REST OF US, YOU'RE NOT INVICIBLE, AND YOU'RE NOT SPECIAL! YOU'RE JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE! YOU'RE A FRIEND!"

Kid gripped his side and tried to slow his ragged breathing, grimacing softly. He should have known something like this would occur; the boy seemed to have been spiraling deeper into depression than usual. He should have spoke up, comforted his friend, asked what the matter was. Kid grunted, sliding down to his knees in a fit of wet, bloody coughs, slouching over as his vision begun to fill up with black splotches. He had gone and over exhausted himself. He slumped forward and passed out almost immediately, causing his weapons to form back into humans, not bothering to wake him, Liz cradling his head as Patty curled against his back, letting the feverish child sleep.

* * *

Crona awoke, eyes wild and confused as he felt cold and itchy, clammy almost. He was sweating, that was for sure, his frantic gaze soon landed upon the man not far off, eyes closed and breathing as close to steady as madness allowed. The young boy set up but immediately looked down, he was bare except for a pair of large shorts that almost stopped at his ankles that were held up by a belt and the white lab coat, stitched up in different places. This was Professor Stein's jacket; it smelt vaguely of vanilla and dead things. The professor himself was the one in the chair, sleeping soundly, dark bags under his eyes. He didn't know where they were but it vaguely looked like a hotel room of sorts, or maybe an apartment building he couldn't tell. He glanced down at himself and saw there were no traces of blood and then he vaguely begun to wonder why there would be blood on him and he soon noticed these weren't his clothes, blushing hard at the fact the male not far away might have undressed and clothed him, probably washed him up too.

"You're awake I see." The voice made the red cheeked boy jump, soft but dark blue eyes quickly landing on the stitched man who was stretching, cranking the giant screw in his head in the opposite direction than what he would usually do.

"P-Professor…Stein…? What's going o-on?! These aren't my clothes…I don't know how to handle this!" the boy said hurriedly, burying his face in his hands.

The scientist looked at him quizzically, wondering where all that madness had gone, leaning across the chair to pet the boys head, ignoring his trembling and the flinch.

"Crona, I had to take you away from the DWMA," he begun slowly, "You can't be with them anymore but, I decided to take you in myself. I'm not much of the father type and I'll probably cut you up when you're asleep," the boy looked horrified and he was already muttering a broken song of "idontknowhowtohandlethis", "Don't worry though, I promise to take good care of you, the best way a mad scientist can, ok? Can you trust me, Crona?"

He extended his hand a bit hopefully, his world was collapsing around him and he felt a dark pit of loneliness in the back of his mind, hoping the child took his offer of company since Marie was gone. He felt a pang at his heart and a lump in his throat. Crona looked at him a bit confused, chewing his bottom lip before hesitantly reaching out his thin hand to grasp the much bigger and tougher hand. The boy was so trusting but Stein had to admit, he was to. He figured they'd end up killing each other at some point but for a moment, as their hands touched, he could tell their souls would be compatible and they'd be able to go through with the scheme only he knew of. Despite it being one sided, Stein didn't mind, as long as he had someone as mad as him, maybe even madder, by his side but somehow able to even him out with his blunt innocence, Stein believed he could handle his burden and felt the corner of his lip twitch up into a smile and Crona fully grasped Stein's hand.

"O-Okay..."

Crona smiled timidly.

* * *

**Third chapter finished.**


End file.
